Money taken from bank accounts

I just learned of something this morning that has happened to a couple in Pennsylvania. I am posting on this as there is the concern that this could happen to expats who may not be aware. In addition, it has already happened in Australia where $360 Million were taken from citizens dormant accounts. It can happen in any country as governments as desperate for money.

The story of the Pennsylvania couple is that they had all of their money taken from their bank account and simply stolen by the State of Pennsylvania. The excuse was that it was inactive for 6 months, although there was interest going in and out and they were paying taxes on the account. The bank had a current address and all up to date contact information on them. They contacted the State and were told the state had no way to verify how much they actually took from it for several months and couldn't tell them how to get it back. Evidently, there was one sentence in something they signed stating the government could do this. There is also something in the law this can happen to brokerage accounts regarding stocks.

I did not know there was a law allowed government to simply take money on a whim without a judge or legal proceeding.
Here is the link with the interview of the man to whom this happened:

http://financearmageddon.blogspot.de/2014/06/glenn-beck-check-your-bank-account.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+LindseyWilliams+%28Lindsey+Williams+Blog%29

Wonderful source for information ..... gheeesh

From the June 17, 2014 edition of "The Glenn Beck Radio Program" on TheBlaze TV:

sparks wrote:Wonderful source for information ..... gheeesh

From the June 17, 2014 edition of "The Glenn Beck Radio Program" on TheBlaze TV:

You or I may not like the source.  That doesn't change what happened to those people unless you believe them to be liars. I think what matters here is what laws are on the books that can be verified and can be used in this manner. If you have any critical thinking, you can research this and see if it is factual.

What happened in Australia is accurate. What happened in Cyprus is also true.

Glen Beck is a pathological liar and unstable (at best). I would not believe ANYTHING emanating from that trash heap he calls a program.
Nor, do I believe anonymous sources on the internet who swear it is true. My dad had a saying, "I can lie and you can swear to it. That does not make it true."
Yes, I would have to research it myself. But, I do not care enough to do that. People who are concerned should research it throughly before losing sleep over the state stealing their money. And, for the love of god, stay away from the likes of Glen Beck as a source.

Second and third sources? All credible journalists have more than one source. Glenn Beck is an entertainer, shit stirrer and liar. He is not a joirnalist.
I am not saying this could not happen. But I do not accept his "stories" as anything but fixtion.

Fear mongering wingers.....  

I wrote an article on this, happened to me, called escheat and usually happens after 5 years.

Escheat /ɨsˈtʃiːt/[1][2][3][4] is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the land reverted to the immediately superior feudal lord.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escheat

Does the state have your money?
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/investing/states-grab-unclaimed-property-1.aspx

Intercasa wrote:I wrote an article on this, happened to me, called escheat and usually happens after 5 years.

In this case, it was 6 months, along with the account activity mentioned above and no deaths.

Since referencing something from Glenn Beck elicited such a strong negative response, I will do some research on him. You probably know more about him that I do. I do not watch him as a news source. Someone just pointed this out to me and I listened to it this morning.

Nonetheless, the topic concerned me as money seizures have happened in various places in the US and are still on going. I know the IMF had some rather alarming plans for people's accounts and our economy. That information I did research and obtained from reading the minutes of one of their recent meetings, which is public information. Most people don't know they can look these things up.

Georgia just changed from 5 years to one year and scooped out $360 million

Most states have "abandoned property" websites with forms and instructions for recovering the escheated assets. Some amount of interest income is typically paid on the money while the state holds it. It can take six months or more for the paperwork to process. I regularly check the abandoned property site for family members and we are always surprised to find what turns up, e.g. insurance refund, a deceased relative's safe deposit box contents, mortgage overpayment after mortgage paid off, street name brokerage account that paid and reinvested a divided because the account was closed after a dividend was declared payable, etc., etc..

There are also companies that go fishing for unclaimed or abandoned property at various government sites and then offer, for % fee, to recover those assets for you. The recovery fee is often regulated. If you do not have the patience of Job and a demented penchant for detail, paying a recovery fee might be the preferred way to go.

oh gee - what happened to facts - even glen becks comments were distorted.

First - the STORY that the account was inactive for six months?

Even Glen Beck didn't say that.

What did he say?

About six months ago, Joe Kerry (Glenn's Chief of Staff) and his wife noticed that they had stopped receiving bank statements for one of their accounts. He proceeded to go back and look at old statements he had received and, sure enough, there was language that explained the state of Pennsylvania could liquidate the account if there is no activity in a certain period of time.

So the question becomes - when is an account considered inactive.  

And if you are smart enuf to add a post to this webforum, you should be smart enuf to google pa unclaimed property law

What is Unclaimed Property?
Unclaimed property is any financial asset that has been left with a “holder,” such as a bank, insurance company or other business or organization, without activity or contact for a period of about five years.

The most common types of unclaimed property are savings or checking accounts, stocks, dividends, checks that have not been cashed, certificates of deposit, unclaimed insurance benefits, expired gift certificates, and items abandoned in safe deposit boxes and held in police department stolen-property files. By law, at the end of the five-year period, holders must transfer abandoned property to the Treasury Department.

Geez